The little Russian’s done it again! A pretty anonymous game but then came up with the goods when it mattered. That win yesterday puts us three points off United and six behind Chelsea and with our game in hand that means we’re in a very healthy position indeed.

Andrey started as centre forward again as Eduardo was not fit enough to start; he did make the bench but made no appearance. It meant a start for Walcott too, he spoke before the game about always putting in a top performance against Liverpool but we hardly saw him in his 70 minutes he played.

In fact the whole side was pretty rubbish in the first half. We were giving the ball away like I had never seen us do before. Maybe Liverpool were just quick to react but I wish I could’ve seen a stat on how much we passed the ball to an opposition player. It really was awful, and it wasn’t just one or two offenders either, even Cesc was guilty of it too.

The front three of Nasri, Arshavin and Walcott couldn’t get in the game at all. We were ok getting two thirds up the pitch but the rest we didn’t have a clue what to do.

The first 45 minutes was all Liverpool. We were lucky not to be 3-0 down at half time. Gerrard was tripped by Gallas inside the area and it looked a definite penalty. Howard Webb waved it away for a goal kick and we can count our lucky stars for that one. Whether the ref thought the ball was already going out of play or whether his recent dives had anything to do with his fortune only Webb will know. However what is for certain is that we were let off there and it stayed at 0-0.

Another great chance came from a Liverpool break where we were caught wildly out of position. Liverpool got down the right flank and whipped a great final ball across to Torres. You’d bet anything on him scoring from the position he was on in but hit a very tame shot low to Almunia’s left and it was quite a comfortable save. Phew!

Liverpool did manage to score just before half time and it was a very sloppy goal to concede. The had a free kick floated in midway inside our half, Almunia came but suicidally flapped it right into the busy box. Kuyt reacted first and managed to squeeze it past all the legs into the bag of the net.

It was awful goalkeeping my Manuel Almunia, the sort of mistake that lost his place earlier in the season. He recently said he’s back to his best after everything that’s happened this year but after yesterday I wouldn’t be surprised to see Fabianski back in the frame.

So half time came, lucky to only be 1-0 down and Wenger had to sort us out at half time. And sort us out he did. Arsene very rarely loses his temper but yesterday he remembered to bring his hairdryer and let the players have it. Cesc Fabregas explains:

“The boss screamed. I’ve never seen him like that before. He was really disappointed in the first half and said we didn’t deserve to wear the Arsenal shirt if we played like that.

And I think he was right. In the second half we turned it around.”

I was a bit shocked to hear how Arsene reacted at the break but it worked! I’ve never heard of Arsene shouting before but yesterday he must’ve just lost his cool. After all the incredible results on the Saturday this trip to Anfield was bigger than ever. It was a massive test for our players and he said before the game that the players knew how important it was. For the players to go out and give that performance in the first half I’m not surprised he was angry. He probably told them that if they were serious about winning the league then they go out there in the second half and win the game. And so they did.

We were a changed side after the break. We were more together, our passing was miles better, we were creating chances and playing the sort of football Arsenal play.

5 minutes in we were handed the bit of good luck that we really needed. It was a great passing move by us ending in Fabregas spreading the ball to the right. Walcott was in the box and Nasri tried to pick him out with a low cross but a couple of deflections caught Glen Johnson off guard and it went in the back of the net off his knee. An awful own goal to concede, a lucky goal to score but we’ll take that. 1-1. Come on Arsenal!

We weren’t finished there though, we got back hold of the ball again and it was clear that we were going for a second. It didn’t take too long for it to come either. In the 58th minute we took the lead, it came from a Fabregas cross from the right that fell to the feet of Glen Johnson again. He didn’t quite control it perfectly and Arshavin nicked it from his feet before belting it in off the inside post. What a finish! I’m sure you’ve seen it but if not Arsenalist’s got all the highlights and goals.

We’d turned the game around in under 10 minutes and Liverpool looked shocked. The remaining half hour of the game I spent on the edge of my seat and the whole thing seems a bit of a nervous blur now.

However in calm coolness of reality nothing really happened – Liverpool were beaten with that strike and struggled to get back in the game. Almunia didn’t have a shot to save in the second half and maybe that was a bit of a blessing after his blunder in the first half. The thought of a Gerrard dive in front of the Kop in the 4 minutes of extra time was always on the back of my mind but it never happened. In fact the ref was very strict and had a keen eye on every player that went down, there was a few attempted dives but Webb was having none of it.

So 2-1 it finished and what a fantastic result that is. Wenger says we’re back in the title race now after being written out of it a couple of weeks ago. Next up we have Burnley on Wednesday night, a really tricky place to go but we have to win there otherwise yesterday was pointless. Lets think about that later though and bask in this victory for a bit.

It feels good to be a Gooner today doesn’t it?